Author: Breffni Banks

Following the earliest announcement of newly remastered catalogue releases, from the home of Tara Music and legendary Irish Folk group Clannad, two special re-issues ‘Crann Úll’ and ‘Fuaim’ are now available digitally, for the first time. Available here:

‘Crann Úl’l https://UMI.lnk.to/CrannUllPre

‘Fuaim’ https://UMI.lnk.to/FuaimPre

Aligning with the group’s 50^th anniversary together, having formed in 1970, the two special re-issues of ‘Crann Úll’ and ‘Fuaim‘ were released on 180gram Vinyl, CD and digital in July.

Arguably their most influential, these two significant re-releases have been beautifully remastered by Aidan Foley/Masterlabs and overseen by Pól Brennan. They are also notably the first and last to feature the bands younger sister Eithne Ní Bhraonáin otherwise known as Enya.

“We are very pleased that ‘Crann Úll’ and ‘Fuaim’ have been remastered and are available again on vinyl …they were an important part of our musical journey….we are also very happy to lend our support to independent record stores everywhere.” – Pól Brennan of Clannad.

The first x80 copies of ‘Crann Úll’, originally released in 1980, are pressed on 180gram Dark Grey vinyl. The first x82 copies of ‘Fuaim’, released in 1982, are pressed on 180gram Simple White vinyl. Both are signed and numbered exclusively on https://claddaghrecords.com/.

17 year old singer songwriter, Rosie Byrne from Dublin, releases her single ‘Leaving With Me’ on Friday 3^rd September 2021 on iTunes, Spotify and all streaming services. About to head back to school for her 6^th and final year, Rosie is a very recognisable voice and face from her stints as a hugely popular busker every week on Dublin’s Grafton Street (Covid rules dependant!).

Rosie first started playing drums at the age of 10. However, when she moved into secondary school she realised that it was going to be hard to bring a drum kit into school every week for music classes and took up the guitar. She quickly fell in love with the guitar and found that it was much easier to write songs with her new instrument!

Rosie’s first EP titled ‘Proud’ was recorded in early 2019. The title track gained support on RTÉ Radio One from both by Fiachna O’Braonain & Gavin Glass.

In June 2019, Rosie won the ‘DownTime’ inaugural busking competition in Northern Ireland where the first prize was an Ed Sheeran designed guitar, made by Lowden. She was a finalist in 2020’s Forestside Singer song writer competition which gave her a slot in the recently held Glen Arm’s Festival in Larne, which was the first time she has performed to a live audience, since the first lockdown.

Her last release ‘Daylight Robbery’ got great support from various radio stations around Ireland.

Rosie can be found most weekends, hail, rain or snow, on Grafton Street, where she has become a regular among the very talented young busking community. YouTube channel ‘Dublin City Today’ uploads live videos of the buskers where Rosie regularly features and you can find over 100 live videos and interviews.

Rosie supported Brian Kennedy last year and was delighted to perform in the famous Ruby Sessions, the International Circle sessions and support Glenn & Ronan in 2019. She can’t wait to get out live gigging again!

Instagram: @RosieByrneMusic                        YouTube: RosieByrneMusic

Spotify: Rosie Byrne/

Emerging Afro-Irish artist Xona is a musical triple threat who combines a special talent for songwriting and production with a truly beautiful voice to deliver sensual, soulful pop music. His latest single ‘In My Head’ is another melodramatic banger, the kind of captivating Pop-inflected hit that he is becoming known for.

Having moved from Lagos to Ireland at the age of 10, he spent his teenage years mixing it up between the church choir and watching live performances of the pop stars like Prince and Christina Aguilera on YouTube. Pursuing his dream of writing songs and being a singer Xona studied for degrees in jazz and popular music all the while making ripples in the Irish underground music scene.

Xona began working with different producers and songwriters in London, Berlin, and Dublin. His influences emanate from the vast worlds of jazz, electronic, house, rock and even classical music.

“This song, ‘In My Head’ was written two summers ago and recorded last summer. It really was the beginning of this new era of music I’ve found myself in. At the time I truly felt this way and I just knew I had to carve a song out of this feeling because I think a song is the closest way to make a feeling physical.”

Sipping from the well of music from the 80’s, Xona wanted to create something with drama, the kind of sing that could compete with Don Henley’s ‘Boys Of Summer’ or ‘Right Here Waiting’ by Richard Marx, “I don’t care what anyone says, those songs are incredible and the holy grail of pop music.” Once he felt he had written a strong enough melody and lyrics he reached out to Michael Heffernan (Dermot Kennedy, Gavin James, The Script), and sent him an acapella version of the song. “He instantly composed the music for the song, seemingly out of thin air. He impresses me to no end.”

‘In My Head’ is a song about falling deep for someone after just a small encounter, and racing through far-fetched fantasies of real everlasting love. “I’ve come around to overwhelming feelings like these. I think it’s a universal situation, it happens to everyone, and I believe those feelings, at the time, to be real and valid.”

‘In My Head’ is out now Friday 20th August via Berlin/Dublin based record label WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD (Tolü Makay, Enda Gallery, Strange Boy).

Social Links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo._.na/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xonatheartist

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3iupkARv6JjMdaMPXStSGm?si=WXHIRL79QRWXH8RXBV0fjw

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/de/artist/xona/1533671366?l=en

Elga Fox releases brand new summer single ‘The Sea’. This is the fourth track recorded at Darklands Studio, Dublin with producer Dan Doherty, following previous releases ‘Black Dog’ and ‘City Lights’. Elga has been performing weekly livestreams on her YouTube channel, appropriately named ‘Songs from the Sitting Room’ and had gained a loyal following on Patreon.

Speaking about the track Elga says: “It’s a song about my love for sea swimming and it’s therapeutic benefits. Jumping into freezing cold water does sound a little crazy, but it really does reset your whole system, helps you reconnect to yourself and reminds you of your vitality. There’s also a great sense of community at the local swimming spots, which has been a huge comfort especially during Covid times.”

The release coincides with a self made music video.

‘The Sea’ is available to download and stream on all platforms.

Links to social media http://elgafox.contactin.bio/

Fearless, feisty Cork fiddler, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Clare Sands has been crafting new macaronic works in English and Irish and sharing them throughout 2021. These four songs are inspired by the four provinces of Ireland over four seasons.

Following on from her critically acclaimed first two releases of this series – roar of the Atlantic ‘Carry My Song’ with Susan O’Neill, and transcendent ode to spring ‘Abair Liom Do Rúin’ with Steve Cooney & Tommy Sands (BBC NI & RTÉ Radio One play-listed), Sands has embarked on a musical expedition to Connaught on the West Coast of Ireland, continuing to push the boundaries of Irish music in an inviting, and invigorating way.

Clare Sands and long-time friend, composer, and musician Brídín have joined forces to create a rockin’ raucous anthem to raise the spirits. They embarked on a journey following Sligo Greats (Yeats, Queen Maeve, Michael Coleman & Kevin Burke) along the shores of Enniscrone – inviting the ‘merry to sing, and the marry to dance.’ Over one week, the two forces of nature composed and recorded ‘Iontach Bheith Beo’ (Good to be Alive) whilst simultaneously converting a giant Boeing 747 plane for Brídín’s EP launch.

The result is a driving, pulsating, celebration of life, for those that have gone before us, and those yet to come…

Rain ponchos in tow, a mesmerising video created by emerging visual artists and twin sisters Liadain Ní Bhraonáin and Kasia Kaminska, will premiere next week, Wednesday 25^th August on Folk Radio UK. It is an ode to the ‘Irish Summer’ and all that it entails. Filmed on Enniscrone beach on a typical summers day in Ireland – rain, sun, sleet, sun, wild Atlantic winds, sun.

The energetic performance explores Ireland’s rich soundscapes and landscapes through rise and fall, roots and their sprawl, navigating through uncharted territories where Irish and English languages, Traditional, Folk, and Contemporary musics meet.

‘Iontach Bheith Beo’ (Good to be Alive) by Clare Sands, featuring Brídín, is out now (Friday 20^th August 2021)

The fourth and final collaboration in the series will be with Liam O’Maonlaí and due for release in October.

This project is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareSandsCeol

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claresandsceol/

www.claresands.com

John Blek fans have reason to celebrate with new single ‘Cormorant’ released on 20^th August. This is the second single to be taken from Blek’s upcoming album ‘On Ether & Air’ due out on 10 September.  ‘Cormorant’ is an up-tempo song with a graceful guitar line under lyrics with a distinctly nautical theme. Mythologically the cormorant means different things in different fishing cultures but for many, the bird is a sign of good luck.

‘Cormorant’ features Kris Drever, of the Scottish band Lau on guitar and backing vocals, winner of an incredible seven BBC 2 Folk Awards. Kris also served as the inspiration for the song. John explains, “He and his wife were expecting their second child but he had to travel away from home for work. The longing to be home to support one’s partner contrasting with the necessity to work away in order to provide is something that has always occupied my mind. The comparison between a touring musician and a long-haul fisherman is one I have drawn on before, having had many confessional conversations with fishermen over the years.”

The striking vintage-style video for ‘Cormorant’ was filmed and directed by Blek using Super 8mm footage he filmed around the Port of Cork and his own garden, which was then edited and projected onto the faces of John and his wife Ciara. It beautifully illustrates the couple’s longing to be together conflicting with the necessity of leaving home to provide for a family. The video ends with a sweet shot which will warm hearts, and provides a beautiful resolution to the song.

John lives and was raised in Cork City, but in listening to his music one can hear the impact of travel and experience on his work. Influenced by Bert Jansch, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Blek is a storyteller first and foremost. He began his solo career in 2014 and since then has created at a prolific rate, releasing an album a year. On Ether & Air will be the final part of his ‘Catharsis’ project, a four album exploration of themes of the sea, the earth, the embers and the air. Written over a period of six weeks and recorded throughout the second half of 2019, collaboration was key to the creation of ‘On Ether & Air’.

John explains, “Chance encounters and some fortunate timing lead to me being able to work with some of my favourite musicians. Getting people with such unique playing styles involved went a long way in defining the sound of ‘On Ether & Air’ and creating an album of which I am immensely proud.”

Due to Covid lockdowns, last year John had the heart-breaking task of canceling or rescheduling an entire tour of sixty gigs. Thankfully he takes to the road again from September to December of this year for gigs in Ireland, as well as a comprehensive European tour taking in many dates in the UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. For all tour dates, check out his website.

Fri 10th Sept     The American Bar, Belfast. Tickets
Fri 8th Oct         Cleere’s Theatre, Kilkenny
Sun 10th Oct     Spirit Store, Dundalk
Sat 16th Oct      Triskel, Cork. Tickets
Sun 17th Oct     Workman’s Club, Dublin. Tickets
Sat 23rd Oct      The Black Gate, Galway.

Thin Lizzy’s ‘Wild One’ is the latest release from Irish roots duo The Remedy Club.  It’s a slowed down, haunting, melancholic take on the Philip Lynott classic and features Spanish guitar from McEvoy in place of the signature ‘Lizzy’ twin electric guitars with expressive, plaintive vocals from Mythen.

The single is released on Philip’s birthday 20^th August and all funds raised will go towards Irish Cancer Society.

Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham described the recording as, “The most beautiful and haunting version of a Thin Lizzy song I have ever heard.”

https://www.justgiving.com/The-Remedy-Club

Multi-talented and hotly-tipped BIMM Class of 2021 graduates Sky Atlas will release their new single ‘Threads’ on Friday 20th August.

The single release follows the announcement that the band’s debut EP ‘Stone’ is coming on Friday 5th November, supported by a live EP launch show at The Grand Social, Dublin the following Thursday, 11th November.

“‘Threads’ is definitely one of the heavier tracks on the EP and one of my favourites to play live,” says lead singer Lughaidh Armstrong-Mayock. “We were kind of thinking Jack White meets Radiohead in terms of the shredding violin parts and large orchestral sections towards the end. I love the heftiness of this track and how it continues to build throughout. I remember putting the final touches to ‘Threads’ in the studio – it was 5am and we were all wrecked and couldn’t figure out what it needed, so I just started layering all these noises to push the last instrumental – the resulting chaos was exactly what the track needed, and despite the long session, we were all bouncing off the walls.”

The song further cements the extraordinary musicality of Lughaidh Armstrong-Mayock, Louis Younge, Danilo Ward and Ryan McClelland. This is a classic four piece set up but is in no way typical, with additional strings (violin from Louis Younge and cello from Laura McCabe) augmenting the lush soundscapes that Sky Atlas create.

‘Threads’ follows the band’s previous single, the title track of the forthcoming EP ‘Stone’, which has received airplay nationwide from the likes of RTÉ 2fm, Radio Nova 100, KCLR, Beat 102 103 and Dublin’s 98fm. Hot Press commented that the “vivid track showcases the band’s diverse influences, and highlights a stunning orchestral instrumentation.”

Singer-storyteller David Keenan has just released his new single ‘What Then Cried Jo Soap’, today Thursday 19th August, a clarion call for his forthcoming second album – ‘WHAT THEN?’- due October 15th.

Of the track, David says:  “This song details the desire for purpose and meaning in one’s own life. These are human struggles which I believe we can all relate to – we are all Jo Soap – heightened like never before as a result of the great trauma that has affected all our lives in countless ways since the pandemic began.”

It’s the latest chapter in the story of this young free-spirit from Dundalk in County Louth. Drawing equally on memories of his teenage adventures in Liverpool, in search of his musical hero, the quixotic Lee Mavers’ of The La’s, and an extended “lost weekend” which lasted five weeks in a pre-COVID Paris last year, David Keenan’s stories explore worlds both fantastical and factual. ‘WHAT THEN?’ was recorded in the Cooley Mountains near David’s hometown of Dundalk, and was produced by Jonathon Mooney of Portland, OR cinematic-indie band Other Lives. Guests on the album include David’s namesake and “soul brother”, the Scottish author David Keenan, Irish poet Stephen Murphy and US drummer Aaron Steele, best known for his work with Hayley Williams and Portugal. The Man.

Now back in Dublin after a lockdown sojourn in Catalonia, David is getting ready to travel to America to open for Rodrigo y Gabriela on their forthcoming US tour, before heading back to Europe for his own headline dates in October through to December.

New wave pop artist Bobbi Arlo is set to unleash her highly anticipated brand new single ‘Fever Thoughts’ on 19 August 2021. Fresh off the back of her previous radio smash release ‘Feel It’, ‘Fever Thoughts’ represents a raucous return for the feisty pop starlet.

Speaking about the song, Bobbi Arlo says, “‘Fever Thoughts’ is the product of me craving those special nights out. I wrote the song after reminiscing about my first night in the big city and how mesmerising and fun the whole experience was. I really wanted to captivate the energy and excitement I felt that night and put it into a song.”

2021 started off with a bang for the new wave pop artist with the announcement that she was selected by RTÉ 2FM as one of their ‘Rising Acts’ for 2021 as well as being named by Hot Press magazine as one of their ‘Hot for 2021’ picks.

Her mellow almost hypnotic sounding voice paired with her infectiously catchy lyrics and beats make for a pairing even the sourest of people could love. Her music is nothing short of feel good, feel deeply.

‘Fever Thoughts’ the brand new single from Bobbi Arlo, is set for release across all streaming platforms and digital formats on 19 August.

https://twitter.com/bobbi_arlo?s=20
https://www.instagram.com/bobbi_arlo/?hl=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@bobbi_arlo
https://www.facebook.com/Bobbi-Arlo-354798451757268/